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Egypt’s justice minister resigns after comments raise uproar

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2014 file photo, Egyptian garbage collectors carry paper on a truck as they sift through garbage in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt’s justice minister, Mahfouz Saber, raised an uproar after he said in a Sunday, May 10, 2015, television interview that the children of sanitation workers are too lowly to become judges, saying those who join the judiciary must hail from “appropriate” backgrounds. The comments brought a heavy backlash on social media from Egyptians denouncing elitism -- and what some saw as the arrogance of Egypt’s judiciary. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File) FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2014 file photo, Egyptian garbage collectors carry paper on a truck as they sift through garbage in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt’s justice minister, Mahfouz Saber, raised an uproar after he said in a Sunday, May 10, 2015, television interview that the children of sanitation workers are too lowly to become judges, saying those who join the judiciary must hail from “appropriate” backgrounds. The comments brought a heavy backlash on social media from Egyptians denouncing elitism -- and what some saw as the arrogance of Egypt’s judiciary. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

By Associated Press May 11, 2015 1 min read

CAIRO (AP) – Egypt’s justice minister has resigned after raising an uproar by saying in a TV interview that the children of sanitation workers are too lowly to become judges.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said in a statement that Justice Minister Mahfouz Saber resigned out of “respect for public opinion.”

In an interview late Sunday with the private TV channel 10, Saber said if the children of sanitation workers became judges they would face problems and eventually suffer from depression and leave. “A judge must hail from an appropriate environment,” he said.